Get ready, hipsters: The Night Tube is coming to the Overground

It may have taken a loooong time to get here but now the Night Tube is up and running like a... well, like a train.

Nearly a year since its launch, the 24-hour night service is being rolled out to the Overground line at weekends, starting with the branch between New Cross Gate and Dalston, and it's happening just in time for Christmas.

This will then be extended to the Highbury and Islington branch next year.

More than 6.5m journeys have been made on the Night Tube since its launch. There's no data on how drunk the passengers were, but apparently they spent a lot, boosting London's night-time economy by £77m and supporting a further 2,000 jobs.

But the extension is not all about serving night owls and hipsters. The mayor's office said the new service would "help those working shifts in East London’s thriving hospitality and service sectors, and those who live in the outer London zones, by substantially reducing their journey times. It will also be hugely beneficial for other night shift workers going to and from work, including those in the emergency services".

Mayor Sadiq Khan said: “Our Night Tube services have been a real success right across the capital, so I’m delighted to announce that we’ll be bringing the Night Overground to the East London line later this year. It will provide huge benefits to Londoners and visitors to our city, helping those working hard through the night and all those out enjoying everything London has to offer, as well as creating jobs and boosting our economy.”

Henry Dimbleby, co-founder of Leon and London Union, added: "The orange line is the artery that connects London's most vibrant areas. The opening of the night service will not just boost the local economy, it will further feed the creative spirit of east London, the culture epicentre of Europe. It's going to be awesome."

Due to Crossrail work taking place at Whitechapel station, London Overground night services will initially not call at the station until works are complete. Services are expected to call at the station from summer 2018.

All stations along the route will be staffed at all times while trains are running, with CCTV, modern lighting and help points throughout.

In the future, the Night Tube will be extended to parts of the Metropolitan, Circle, District, and Hammersmith & City lines once modernisation programmes are complete in 2023.